St. Louis Community Foundation announces Dara Eskridge, a well-respected urban planner and development leader, as executive director of Invest STL, the Foundation’s community development initiative. Invest STL sources and allocates funds for stabilization and redevelopment initiatives in underserved neighborhoods in the St. Louis region.
“Dara’s background in community development and urban planning will be a real asset for us as she leads Invest STL,” said Amelia Bond, CEO and president of the St. Louis Community Foundation. “She has firsthand knowledge of what it takes to mobilize community leadership and leverage philanthropic resources to drive success.”
Most recently, Eskridge worked at Urban Strategies, a national nonprofit that specializes in neighborhood redevelopment and revitalization. Before joining Urban Strategies, Eskridge served as a senior planner in the St. Louis County government from 2013 to 2017. She received her master’s degree in urban planning from Columbia University in New York and her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Tuskegee University.
In 2018, St. Louis Community Foundation and its donors gave $88 million to nonprofits in St. Louis and around the country.
